Roy A. Childs, Jr.: The Ethics of Liberty

Roy A. Childs, Jr.

Roy A. Childs, Jr., was an essayist, lecturer, and critic. He first came to prominence in the libertarian movement with his 1969 “Open Letter to Ayn Rand,” and he quickly established himself as a major thinker within the libertarian tradition. Childs edited Libertarian Review from 1977 to 1981 and was a Cato Institute scholar from 1982 to 1984. He wrote and edited hundreds of book reviews for Laissez Faire Books from 1984 until his death in 1992. Some of his essays were collected in Liberty against Power, published by Fox & Wilkes.

Roy A. Childs, Jr., was an essayist, lecturer, and critic. He first came to prominence in the libertarian movement with his 1969 “Open Letter to Ayn Rand,” and he quickly established himself as a major thinker within the libertarian tradition. He passed away in 1992.

In this lecture from a Cato Summer Seminar at Dartmouth in 1983, Childs gives a talk on the ethical implications of the libertarian philosophy. He begins with an introduction to Robert Nozick’s theory of justice and the consideration that “liberty upsets patterns,” and follows up by introducing the principles of ownership, just acquisition, and transfer of property.